| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| eskimobirdlady |
Posted - Jun 06 2009 : 7:34:36 PM
my chickens are about a year old and laying nicely. lately they seem to be getting some very runny poop which they will often turn around and eat! YUCK! some of them are also getting some poop on their butts. any suggestions? it does seem that chickens will eat ANYTHING! we found a pile of poop with 3 spent .22 casings in it!! ouch!! our first momma just came off her nest today with 5 babies. she sat 6 eggs and the last one tried to hatch but it was trying to get out the bottom and didnt make it. we have about 35-40 eggs in the incubator that are due to hatch on the 13th. our milk cow is still dry, she wasnt bred like we had hoped. we will take her back to the guy we got her from to be bred in another month or so. we dont want an early spring baby! we hope to hatch at least one more incubator full and there is a nest hidden outdoors that we are hoping one of them sits. right now there are 10 egss in it. we took 6 of them out today and will give them another few days to decide to sit. we have to get them fenced in becasue our eggs production (at least the ones available to us lol) is down to almost half what it was when they were penned up. peace connie in alaska |
| 9 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| twzlrwho |
Posted - Jun 22 2009 : 10:15:10 AM
Only as much as they would eat in 15-20 mins or so. It will sour if left out.
 Christina
Work like you don't have to, love like you've never been hurt, and dance like nobody is watching :) |
| eskimobirdlady |
Posted - Jun 09 2009 : 5:03:29 PM
christina how much of the yogurt/pumpkin seed/ goat milk would you putt out for 14 hens and one rooster? they are barred rock and rir. how often would you use this mix? thanks again for the help! peace connie in alaska |
| twzlrwho |
Posted - Jun 09 2009 : 05:23:47 AM
Thanks for the kind words Kris. I will help you anytime I can.
Brenda, thanks for the tip. I will be picking some up to have on hand.
Connie, I have no idea if it is recommended to hatch on antibiotics or not. However, if it was me those eggs would be in the bator just to see what happens. But that's just me and I am a hatch-a-holic...LOL
Christina
Work like you don't have to, love like you've never been hurt, and dance like nobody is watching :) |
| eskimobirdlady |
Posted - Jun 07 2009 : 11:46:43 PM
wow ladies i think you just saved me the loss of 16 days owrth of eggs by not putting them on antibiotics. i did buy some but havent used any yet. i think i will go to the health food store and get some pumpkin seed, natural yogurt and a can of goatss milk! if hubby insists on using the antibiotic can those eggs be put in the incubator and hatched or would i need to throw them out?
hi kristin, i havent been around mostly because i have been ill. i cannot sit at the puter for long periods of time. i do try to come in and read when i feel up to sitting for a bit. congrats on your chiks. i hope mine do as well! i have to figure out how to feed them what they need and not waste the expensive starter feed on the laying hens who need a different diet. i think hubby is gonna build a box that the chicks can get in but then grown hens cant.
peace connie in alaska |
| BarefootGoatGirl |
Posted - Jun 07 2009 : 5:40:37 PM
when i would start to be concerned about my girls a little, i would add a couple TSP of colloidial silver to thier 3 gallon watering can for a couple of days (if they were getting sick it would clear them up and if not it was harmless).
What we write today slipped into our souls some other day when we were alone and doing nothing.
-Brenda Ueland
http://quilandneedle.blogspot.com/
http://musingandmuttering.blogspot.com |
| kristin sherrill |
Posted - Jun 07 2009 : 4:54:14 PM
Hey Connie. I haven't seen you around here lately. It sounds like you have been busy. I had a hen hatch 8 chicks a few months ago and all are still alive!! They are growing like little weeds. I lock them in at night but during the day they are all over like the rest of the chickens.
Christina, I wish I knew as much as you about these chickens. You seem to know alot about them. I'll sure know where to go next time there is a problem with mine again. And I am sure there will be a next time.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
| twzlrwho |
Posted - Jun 07 2009 : 12:20:50 PM
I really wouldn't worry too much. Every 6-8 poos they have a cecal poo. This is runny and stinky. I would start to worry if you see blood. As long as they eat and drink and act normal with no other symptoms, I think they are ok. A couple of things you can give them to help their bellys is plain yogurt and goat milk and pumpkin seeds is a nice natural dewormer. These things will also take care of an array of other things such as, sour crop and coccidia, and the natural gut flora they need.
I would think a TBS of olive oil would be sufficient for 3 gallons of water.
Momma hen sounds in her glory. I bet that is so cute to watch. I haven't been so lucky on that part. I caught my hen busting all her eggs so I took what I could salvage and put them in the incubator. Fingers crossed.
Good Luck with your babies! HUGS
Christina
Work like you don't have to, love like you've never been hurt, and dance like nobody is watching :) |
| eskimobirdlady |
Posted - Jun 07 2009 : 09:50:09 AM
hi chistina, thenks for the reply. i dont know if the poo is runny all the time or occasionally or even how many of the hens (or which ones) are runny. they free range, hence the spent .22 casings in their diet lol. the poo is anywhere from clear (which they tend to turn around and eat (yuck!) to brown, gray or normal gray and white just loose. i have 14 hens and a rooster so dont get to see who is pooing what or when. we havent wormed them, but here you rarely even have to worm dogs! being free range i have no clue what they are getting into to eat but i do still give them layer mash (crumbles)at all times. the holes dont seem to be plugged but i will watch that carefully as i can. how much olive oil would i put in their wateer. they use a 3 gallon waterer.
momma hen was trying to ge tthe babies out of the nest but while they were giving it a good college try (jumping like popcorn lol) they couldnt get out of the nest as the boxes are too deep so we put out a dog house for momma to keep her babies in. she seems to be happy there. i havent gone out to check them yet this morning but they were tucked in all snug late last night. when we moved them we had set her back in the box with them to keep her out of the way while putting the dog house in and when we picked her up to move her she carreid 3 of the babies under her wings with her lol.
peace connie in alaska |
| twzlrwho |
Posted - Jun 07 2009 : 08:43:41 AM
Is the poo runny all the time or maybe once or twice a day? What color is the poo? Do you worm them? Has their diet changed?
Poo on the butts, if it's blocking the hole it needs to be cleaned off. If they can't poo they will get septic and die. To help with pasty butt you can add a little olive oil to their food or water, and after the butt is clean apply a little vasoline on it to keep it from sticking again.
Congrats on all your new babies!
Christina
Work like you don't have to, love like you've never been hurt, and dance like nobody is watching :) |
